Private equity firm Thoma Bravo will acquire Coupa Software for $8 billion, the global technology company announced in mid-December. A wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority will be a minority investor.
The news follows reports earlier in the month that Coupa’s investors were urging the company to hold out for $95 a share. The deal Coupa struck with Thoma Bravo works out to $81 per share, or a 77% premium for shareholders.
California-based Coupa makes spend management software for large businesses, and Thoma Bravo has a history of buying mature enterprise software companies and taking them private. As other SaaS companies have experienced, Coupa has had a hard time in this year’s stock market. Its stock price was down 64% year-to-date and more than 2.5% following the announcement of the deal, suggesting that investors may not be overly enthusiastic about the acquisition, TechCrunch reported.
“The Board evaluated the transaction against the company’s standalone prospects in the current macroeconomic climate and determined that the compelling and certain cash consideration in the transaction provides superior risk-adjusted value relative to the Company’s standalone prospects,” Coupa’s lead independent director Roger Siboni said in a statement. “The Board is unanimous in its belief this transaction is the optimal path forward and in the best interest of our shareholders.”
The Board of Directors has unanimously agreed to the terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the first half of 2023, pending stockholder and regulatory approval.
The 16-year-old Coupa has offices throughout Europe, Latin America, and Asia Pacific.
